documentation for Chicago style bungalow historic landmark

City Of Berwyn Historic Preservation Commission 

Name: CHICAGO STYLE BUNGALOWS IN BERWYN, IL 

x New Submission Amended Submission 

A. Name of Documentation for Historic Designation 

Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn, IL 

B. Associated Historic Contexts 

Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn -Local Adoption of the Bungalow Form: 1900-1915 

Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn –Neighborhood and Streetscape Cohesiveness: 1900-1945 

Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn –Expanding Homeownership, Suburban Expansion and the American Dream: 1900-1945 

C. Form Prepared by 

name/title Nasri AbiMansour, Committee Chair Beverly Weable, Committee Secretary 

Organization Berwyn Bungalow Preservation Exploratory Committee date 10 March 2011 

street & number telephone 

city or town Berwyn state IL zip code 60402 

e-mail nasri.mansour@gmail.com chicagopeach@gmail.com

Name: CHICAGO STYLE BUNGALOWS IN BERWYN 

Table of Contents for Written Narrative 

Introduction 

E. Statement of Historic Contexts 

- Chicago-Style Bungalows In Berwyn -Local Adoption of the Bungalow Form: 

1900-1915 

- Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn –Neighborhood and Streetscape 

Cohesiveness: 1900-1945 

- Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn – Suburban Expansion, Homeownership 

and the American Dream: 1900-1945 

F. Associated Property Type 

- Chicago-Style Bungalow 

- Antecedent Forms: Frame and Stucco Bungalows 

- Subsequent and Other Bungalow Forms 

- Property Type Significance 

- Registration Requirements 

G. Geographical Data 

H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 

I. Major Bibliographical References 

J. Pictures 

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Introduction: History of Berwyn 

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The land that today makes up Berwyn was originally marshland and a rich hunting ground of the Sac, 

Fox, and Potawatomi Indians. The Earliest settlers in the Berwyn area came in the 1830s to construct 

the Illinois & Michigan Canal, which opened waterway travel from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of 

Mexico. 

The earliest investments and building up of Berwyn began in 1846 when Theodore Doty purchased 

canal land and began constructing the Plank Road, now Ogden Avenue and part of Historic US Route 

66, between Chicago and Ottawa about 80 miles southwest of the city. Assured that there would be 

some form of commerce with Chicago, Thomas Baldwin, another land investor, purchased 347 acres 

in a section bounded today by Ridgeland, Harlem, Ogden and 31 st Street, and named his future 

community LaVergne. Despite his ambitions to build an affluent and exclusive community, Baldwin 

needed better access. He sold a portion of his land to the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy (CB&Q) 

Railroad in 1862, and a decade later, a flag stop finally marked the settlement along the railroad. 

Baldwin invested heavily in the area, laying down streets, landscaping, and adding drainage systems, 

however the Panic of 1873 brought further development to a halt. In 1880, several years after 

Baldwin‟s death, a syndicate led by Chicago retailer Marshall Field bought and subdivided the land. At 

that time, twelve homes dotted the landscape of LaVergne (Kirk, 1995) (Thielen, 1998) (School of the 

Art Institute, 1999). 

In 1890 Charles E. Piper and Wilbur J. Andrews, two Chicago attorneys, purchased a 106-acre plot of 

land from the Marshall Field syndicate to develop. The land was bounded by Wesley, Kenilworth, 31st 

Street, and Ogden Avenues. By the following year, the two received approval from the Cicero 

Township to double their land holdings. Piper and Andrews wanted the railroad to build a station in 

their development, but the railroad already had stations at LaVergne and at Harlem Avenue. Piper and 

Andrews decided to build a station with the understanding that trains would stop regularly. They did 

not know what to name their station, so they consulted a Pennsylvania train timetable to a find a 

name. The name they chose was "Berwyn", a beautiful subdivision outside of Philadelphia. Another 

settlement also occupied the area along 31 st Street between East Ave and Oak Park Avenue. Called 

Upsala, or “Swedentown”, it was home to a small group of Swedish immigrants attracted to the area 

after the Illinois Central Railroad laid its track circa 1888. (Thielen, 1998) (School of the Art Institute, 

1999) 

While Piper and Andrews were developing the southern areas of present-day Berwyn, John Kelly was 

helping to develop the north part from 12th Street to 16th Street. This area was really a part of an Oak 

Park subdivision, and it even appeared on some maps as "South Oak Park.” The village of Oak Park 

formally broke its link with north Berwyn in 1899, declaring 12 th Street (Roosevelt Road) as its 

southern boundary. Three years later, on November 5, 1901, both Berwyn and Oak Park voted to 

break from Cicero Township and incorporated as separate villages. The new village was called 

Berwyn and included Piper and Andrews‟ development, the older LaVergne, Upsala, and North 

Berwyn. The distinctive character of each of these communities remained for many years. Little 

development linked the area between 16 th and 31st streets, although all four communities shared the 

identity and governance of Berwyn (Berwyn Historical Society, 1983). 

First incorporated as a village in 1902 and then as a city in 1908, Berwyn grew rapidly, however it was 

not till after the Armistice on November 11, 1918, that ended World War I, that Berwyn began an 

unprecedented building boom. With the new century in full swing, the automobile was becoming more 

affordable and most new homes were equipped with indoor plumbing, electricity and telephones. 

Berwyn‟s prime location with easy access to public transportation and highways was a key factor for 

the early settlers of Berwyn. Many residents worked, and still do, in Chicago‟s Loop. From 1906 thru 

1983 as many as 40,000 workers took advantage of the opportunities at the nearby Western Electric


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Hawthorne Works with countless living in Berwyn. This massive industrial plant in the adjacent Town 

of Cicero manufactured all the telephones being made for the Bell System. Berwyn experienced 

another building boom in the post World War II period. New housing rapidly filled the remaining prairie 

with both English Tudor inspired and Mid-Century Modern styled homes. 

Berwyn is called “City of Homes” and has long been recognized for its top quality housing stock, from 

Victorians to ranch homes built in the 1950s due in part to its stringent building codes. However, it is 

the bungalow that is the predominant architectural style in the city. It contains elaborate design 

elements typically not seen on other types of architecture, such as stained glass windows, clay tile 

roofs, terra cotta, and intricate brick patterns The word "bungalow" is the Anglicized version of the 

name given to small cottages originally constructed in India called "bangla", or "bangalo" in the late 

1800's. Although there have been many versions of the bungalow built since then, the "Chicago Style" 

bungalow is the style referred to in this document and the predominant style of bungalows found in 

Berwyn. 

The majority of Chicago style bungalows were built between 1910 and 1940. This unique new 

bungalow that developed in Chicago was fueled by the national bungalow craze and Chicago‟s own 

Prairie style, however, much of its roots came from the workingman‟s house of the 19th and early 20th 

century. They were typically constructed from brick and had one and a half stories with a full 

basement. The front facade may feature a decorative brown, red or yellow face brick often laid in 

complex dizzying patterns and embellished with limestone details. Long, narrow city lots determined 

the overall shape so that like many other local homes, Chicago style bungalows are relatively narrow, 

being about 20 feet wide on a standard 30-35 feet wide Berwyn lot. One primary difference between 

the Chicago bungalow and other types is that the gables are parallel to the street, rather than 

perpendicular. Today, Berwyn is noted as having the most significant collection of Chicago-style 

bungalows in the nation (School of the Art Institute, 1999). 

Berwyn saw a housing boom in the 1920‟s when the population increased by almost 30,000 (US 

Department of Commerce, 1920) (US Department of Commerce, 1930). Many of the newcomers 

were Czechs migrating from Chicago‟s Pilsen and Lawndale neighborhoods with shared strong 

socioeconomic status that enabled them to engage in significant real estate transactions and building 

projects, along with the Poles, Germans, and Italians who comprised a community that demanded 

substantial, yet affordable housing (Cohn, 1978). With the financial strength provided by Cermak 

Avenue banks, referred to at the time as “Bohemian Wall Street”, partnerships established between 

bankers and developers supported fast, large-scale developments of entire blocks and 

neighborhoods. “Entire blocks were built at once, with contractors digging all basements 

simultaneously. Next came crews to lay foundations, followed by carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, 

plumbers, and electricians.” (Deuchler, 2005) This planned and highly-organized building approach 

accounts for the large number of bungalow blocks in Berwyn, where the rhythm of shared façades 

provide a treat for the eye. 

Beginning in the late 1980s Berwyn experienced a significant influx of young families and single 

professionals reaching a population of just over 55,000 in 1990 (US Department of Commerce, 1990). 

Again, newcomers were attracted by the convenient location, well-built homes and safe, clean 

neighborhoods. Berwyn residents have begun to restore and recycle many of the aging buildings, thus 

preserving and protecting the city‟s architectural heritage. 

Almost 100 years after it first emerged in Berwyn, the bungalow is prominent again. The Berwyn 

Historical Society, a volunteer organization established in 1979 to help preserve the history of the 

community, held the first annual Berwyn Bungalow Tour in 2006. In response to the event, the 

Berwyn bungalows were featured in the summer 2007 edition of American Bungalow magazine 

(Williams, 2007). By the summer of 2010, four different historic bungalow neighborhoods have been


showcased in annual Berwyn Bungalow Tours with a combined total attendance of well over 1000 

guests. 

E. Statement of Historic Contexts 

Chicago-Style Bungalows In Berwyn -- Local Adoption, 1900-1915 

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Between 1871 and 1900 the predominant building style in Berwyn, like the rest of the nation, was the 

Victorian home. By the beginning of the 20 th century, other styles were emerging that had a 

substantial influence on the development of the bungalows in Berwyn. 

The Arts and Crafts movement gained popularity in England in the middle 1800‟s before moving to 

America at the turn of the century. Its practitioners focused on merging arts and work through the 

daily routines of the working class. Initial ideas promoted a home as a retreat away from the bustle of 

society and resulted in small vacation cottages away from east coast towns. On the west coast, the 

ideas resulted in larger more elaborate homes. However, most arts and crafts homes, on both the 

east and west coasts were primarily made of wood or stucco with large, open- air front porches. Not 

so in Chicago. While some of the earlier Chicago style bungalows were designed with an open-air 

porch, it eventually developed into an enclosed living space surrounded by windows, with the porch 

becoming a smaller covered entrance. This style can be seen on the 1400 block of Kenilworth in 

Berwyn. Another deviation from east and west coast bungalow is that Chicago bungalows are 

predominantly constructed of brick. After the 1871 Chicago Fire, Chicago officials had enacted an 

ordinance restricting certain sections of the city to fireproof construction. As such, many areas were 

limited to brick and stone construction (Hoyt, 1933). In April 1911, at the conclusion a Real Estate 

Show at the Chicago Coliseum that featured a frame bungalow as a door prize, a Chicago Tribune 

editorial and favored of a further extension of the Chicago areas requiring fireproof construction and 

praised the advantages of brick (Chicago Tribune, 1911). By 1919, Illinois produced 5,667,714,000 

common bricks, more than any other state. Illinois‟ production of 104,090,000 face bricks ranked third 

behind Pennsylvania and Ohio. In that same year, nine brick manufacturers in Chicago employed 600 

people and produced bricks valued at close to $2,000,000 (US Department Of Commerce, 1920). 

Radford‟s Artistic Homes catalogue of 1908 focuses on the Arts and Crafts movement by 

recommending the house be placed “to provide lawn room and a place for shrubbery and flower beds. 

The house should be at one side or well back so that when the lawn decorations are placed, the 

picture will be artistic and the grounds will seem to be really a part of the house.” This is particularly 

important since a key characteristic of the Chicago Bungalow is its many windows in the front that 

provide light, air and a connection to the garden and landscaping outside (Radford Architectural 

Company, 1908). As bungalow blocks developed in Berwyn, the houses were situated on smaller lots, 

typically 30 by 130 feet. This pattern did not leave much space for landscaping. However, each 

house had enough space for a small private lawn in front and a garden behind. These yards were 

ample enough to attract buyers from the crowded Chicago neighborhoods. 

Unlike the Victorian, the Chicago bungalow‟s bedrooms were typically on the first floor. This unique 

feature would also become popular in the mid-century ranch home. In 1924, according to Country 

Life, “the American idea of a residence was a building of at least two stories, with the bedrooms in the 

secluded upper part of the house; it was a “radical change to put everything on the ground floor.” 

(Whitman, 1924). In addition, the bungalow‟s unfinished attic with gable end windows or dormers, 

provided families the liberty to expand. Homeowners found that bungalows perfectly bridged the gap 

between the immediate need for adequate living space and the opportunity for future expansion. 

Early bungalow developers recognized the efficiency of apartment living, and looked to give buyers an 

acceptable alternative to the apartment. In 1912, Country Life in America had a special on bungalows 

in its July edition. It asked architect Thomas E. Tallmadge about bungalow living and he offered a


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perspective that still resonates a century later, “We will answer your question, „Why do people live in 

bungalows?‟ with the question, „Why do people live in apartments?‟”. “In our opinion to simplify the 

problems of housekeeping…[T]he bungalow… should have the advantages of a good apartment and 

in addition, of course, the joys of sole proprietorship and the possibility of a garden and outdoor home 

life, which the denizens of our modern apartment buildings have not, of course. It seems to us that the 

bungalow, therefore, has a distinct place in American life and architecture.” Walter Burley Griffin, also 

for Country Life in America summed up that a bungalow “taught us how to live simply, comfortably, 

and well.” (Riley, 1912) In Chicago, apartment buildings offered heating, electricity and plumbing 

systems before private homes (Bluestone, 2004), bungalows, both in Chicago and in Berwyn were 

built with these new technologies increasing resident comfort and decreasing housework. Thus, 

bungalows accommodated the “ever-increasing desire to get back to the single or detached house as 

a haven” without foregoing the comfort, convenience and economic advantages of apartment living 

(Webb, 1915). 

Chicago-Style Bungalows in Berwyn –Neighborhood and Streetscape Cohesiveness 

1900-1945 

The entrance to a Chicago-style bungalow is very warm and welcoming. It often stands under a small 

covered porch, five or six steps from the sidewalk, off-center on the front of the house or located along 

the sidewall. Covered by an overhanging roof, it straddles the inside and outside of the house, and 

can be used as an informal place to sit, watch over the neighborhood and have a friendly chat with the 

neighbors. Corner houses in Berwyn were usually the most expensive as they had a prominent 

position on the block and typically sat on the biggest lots. Since they sat on the corner, face brick was 

used along both street fronts to create an attractive element for the point of entry to the block. 

As developers built block after block of bungalows in order to meet the demand of the Bohemian and 

Czech population moving in from Pilsen, Lawndale and Cicero, they maintained a uniform scale for the 

new homes. In Chicago, “slight alterations were needed in the original plans to change entirely the 

aspect of each bungalow. A dormer window here and a peaked roof there and other similar changes 

broke the skyline, eliminating the pea-in-a-pod effect so disconcerting to the celebrating gentlemen 

who had forgotten the number of his own castle” (Chicago Tribune, 1922); in Berwyn however, the 

options to differentiate a bungalow from the next did not stop at the dormer window styles. Bungalows 

in Berwyn were constructed with either an offset or a side entrance. Their façade could be flat or 

curved. Some were constructed with a polygonal, square, or curved bay and the roofline can be 

hipped or with either a true or jerkinhead. The face brick can be glazed or checkerboard brick and 

often laid in multiple patterns. This variety of textures, colors, and design combinations provided 

bungalow developers in Berwyn dozens of options for setting each home, though similar in overall 

shape, apart from its neighbors and creating a uniform, yet unique city. 

Mike Williams, author, praised the Berwyn bungalow in the Summer 2007 issue of American 

Bungalow magazine and identified what sets this region‟s bungalows apart from other Chicago 

bungalows. “You see architectural details and a level of ornamentation seldom seen elsewhere. A 

bungalow‟s soffits, fascia and gutters may be crafted entirely of copper. Leaded glass may appear not 

just in the front windows but in every window, including the basement. Face bricks are laid not just in 

simple rows but in complex, dizzying patterns, embellished with beautifully carved limestone 

ornaments” (Williams, 2007). However, the flat-front bungalows that provide stable, affordable homes 

for the current residents of Berwyn are just as important. They are equally impressive in construction 

and architectural detail and reflect the pragmatic lifestyle that these bungalows support. Bungalow 

blocks in Berwyn, regardless of type of bungalow built, convey a cohesive character with modest 

stylistic variation framed by pre-established building lines and street lawns, and create a syncopated 

rhythm block after block that helped Berwyn residents build a strong and unified community.


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Chicago0Style Bungalows in Berwyn – Suburban Expansion, Homeownership and the 

American Dream, 1900-1945 

First incorporated as a village in 1902 and then as a city in 1908, Berwyn grew rapidly. The 1910 

census recorded 5,841 residents in Berwyn; by 1920 the city nearly tripled its size to 14,150 residents; 

and by 1930, the population reached 47,027 (US Department of Commerce, 1910) (US Department of 

Commerce, 1920) (US Department of Commerce, 1930). Berwyn‟s rapid growth after 1910 was 

largely fueled by an exceptional migration of Czechs who moved to Berwyn from the west side of 

Chicago typically via Cicero. By 1895, nearly 60,000 Czechs were living in the Pilsen settlement 

bounded by 16 th Street, 22 nd Street, Halsted Avenue and Ashland Avenue. When large number of 

Poles began to move to Pilsen, the Czechs moved further west along 26 th Street (Blue Island Avenue) 

into an area known as the California settlement. This area, bounded by California Avenue to the east, 

14 th Street and 33 rd Street was the largest Czech settlement in the city by 1920. This migratory 

pattern along the principal arteries of 22 nd Street and 26 th Street, continued further west into Cicero 

and Berwyn in the early 1920s (Cohn, 1978). The establishment of three Berwyn stops along the 

Douglas line, Lombard (1915), Ridgeland (1924), and Oak Park Ave (1924) facilitated Berwyn 

residents‟ commute to jobs in Cicero and Chicago, and made Berwyn an even more attractive city to 

move to for many. (chicago-l.org) 

Czech settlement exhibited another distinctive characteristic. Czechs generally moved en masse and 

rarely migrated into non-Czech areas. By 1920, Czechs were heavily concentrated in the South 

Lawndale and Crawford neighborhoods on the far western boundary of Chicago and directly East of 

Cicero. Between 1898 and 1920, the density of Czech settlements on the west side remained 

consistent at around 40%, and they typically preferred to live in area densely populated by their own 

ethnic group (Cohn, 1978) 

As a result, Czech migration tended to bring considerable financial and political clout for their ethnic 

group. The Berwyn migration of Czechs represented a third stage migration, from inner city, to West 

side Chicago, to the suburbs thus carrying with it a commitment to long-term concentration and home 

buying. Czechs who moved into Berwyn also shared a relatively strong socio-economic status that 

directly contributed to their ability to engage in significant real estate transactions and building 

projects. By 1930, 11,707 Berwyn residents shared Czech heritage. Many of those who arrived in the 

US between 1909 and 1919 were skilled craftsmen. In addition, of the 220 Czechs listed in the 1934 

Czech Who‟s Who, 15 percent lived in Berwyn (Cohn, 1978) 

Cooperation and partnership among Czech financial institutions, particularly the Czech building and 

loan associations, builders and individuals, led to large scale development projects and the mass 

production of homes between 1910 and 1930 (Cohn, 1978). The area between 16 th and 31 st streets 

stood open for development during this period and was rapidly subdivided. Entire blocks of 

foundations were excavated at once for row after row of bungalows. They accommodated a large 

migration of Bohemians and Czechs from Chicago‟s West side neighborhoods of Pilsen and Lawndale 

and helped define the young city as an ethnic enclave for Eastern Europeans looking to live the 

American dream of homeownership. In 1912, on a trip to Chicago, President Taft addressing school 

children at the Bohemian American Hall on 18 th street stated: “there is nothing inconsistent with loving 

the memory of Bohemia on the one hand and appreciating the advantages of American 

government….Your fathers and mothers have found their opportunities here and have come to love 

this country as they loved their own. They have become so amalgamated with the citizens here that 

they are not distinguished from other American citizens” (Chicago Tribune, 1912). 

For many Czech and Bohemian residents, homeownership represented an important step toward 

reaching the American middle class. A bungalow in Berwyn was the first home that they owned, and


with it, they were closer to achieving the American dream. 

F. Associated Property Types 

Chicago-Style Bungalow 

Property Type Description 

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A Chicago-style bungalow in Berwyn is a single-family brick house built between 1900 and 1945 within 

the City of Berwyn. The Chicago-style bungalow is, in most cases, originally designed for living all on 

one floor, with an unfinished attic and a basement with exit stairs. The basic plan of a typical Chicago 

style bungalow consists of two to three bedrooms and one bathroom on one side, the living room (also 

known as the front room), dining room and kitchen on the other side. 

The typical features of the Chicago style bungalows in Berwyn include: 

Built between 1900 and 1945. 

Brick construction, with face brick on the street facing sides. 

Limestone insets ranging from intricate and complicated decorative stones to windowsills, stair 

and pier caps. 

Low pitched roof with overhang. 

Predominant roofline perpendicular to the street. 

Generous windows, often with leaded or stained glass. 

Situated on narrow lots, 25-35 feet wide. 

Basic floor plan configuration, with few exceptions, consisting of 2-3 bedrooms, with one 

bathroom on one side and the living room, dining room, and kitchen (in order from front to rear) 

on the other side. 

The subtypes of Chicago-style bungalows differ based on the structure‟s entrance, façade and roofline 

variations. 

The primary entrance into a Chicago-style bungalow affects the configuration of the façade as well as 

the floor plan. 

Offset front entrance – most common entry allows for open living and dining room space 

Side entrance – understated entrance at the side of the house that allows for more windows 

and light in front room 

Central front entrance – least common among Chicago-style bungalows likely because it is not 

conducive to the narrow floor plan of the Chicago-style bungalow 

The primary feature of the front façade of the Chicago-style bungalow is the front window: 

Flat – simple and most common 

Square – flat protruding bay from the main central mass of the bungalow 

Polygonal – distinctive 3, 5 or 7-sided bay protrusions 

Curved – least common with softened or rounded corners 

A Chicago-stylebungalow roof is low-pitched with over-hanging eaves. Its visibility from the street 

varies significantly. The two most common street-facing roofline variations are: 

Hipped – This can be with or without a dormer and adds a horizontal emphasis to the structure. 

Most dormers include double hung windows in groups of two or three. 

Gable –Though these are less common in Chicago, they were popular with Berwyn


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developers. They can be divided into two categories: true gable fronts and interrupted front 

gables. In a true gable front, the brick facade rises to meet the angled planes of the roof. An 

interrupted front gable resembles more an overgrown gable dormer or a classical pediment; 

here the roofline on the secondary elevations continues along the top of the façade wall. In 

many cases, the gable, when not part of the front brick façade of the bungalow, is covered with 

wooden clapboards or shingles. 

A Chicago-Style Bungalow’s Exterior Features 

Decorative Features: The decorative elements that adorn most bungalows are stone planters 

and brackets, stone accents, exterior wood moldings and trim add architectural interest and 

make the design of each home distinct. 

Front porch, entryway and doors: A front entryway may consist of a simple ground level 

entrance with an overhanging roof or a porch raised several steps from the ground and built 

into the corner of the facade. Particular entry configurations often defined the style of the 

homes on an entire block. Front porches are typically not enclosed with windows, screens, 

siding or brick. Front porch brick wing walls matching the face brick are typical to the front 

steps. Stairs and porch are not carpeted, tiled or painted. 

Windows: Windows are a key architectural detail of a home and help to define its visual 

character. They are typically double-hung sash windows, with the upper window featuring a 

stained glass or a muntin configuration. 

Masonry: A wide variety of face bricks with distinctive colors and textures were used in the 

construction of bungalows to provide architectural interest to groupings of homes along the 

street. 

Roofs, Gutters & Chimneys: Typical roofing material for Chicago-style bungalows are asphalt 

or clay shingles. 

Antecedent Forms: Frame and Stucco Bungalows 

The Chicago style bungalow as defined in this report is of brick. However, prior to Chicago‟s and 

Berwyn‟s developers adopting brick as the standard material for bungalows, many structures 

exhibiting the basic form of a Chicago style bungalow were constructed of wood with clapboard or 

stucco sheathing. Wood frame bungalows do not qualify for this type of individual designation, 

however, they may still qualify for certification as a local historic landmark under different historic 

contexts. Nevertheless they are considered significant antecedent forms of the Chicago-style 

bungalow and shall be included as contributing structures in a locally certified historic Chicago-style 

bungalow district because they provide evidence of the evolution of the Chicago-styly bungalow into a 

brick structure (Bluestone, 2004). 

Subsequent and Other Bungalow Forms 

Some homes in Berwyn do not fit neatly into any of the above categories or do not exactly follow the 

Chicago style bungalow designs. They still may incorporate many of the basic ideas of the form such 

as a front bay, brick construction with face brick and limestone highlights, overhanging eaves, low 

pitched roof, and leaded or stained glass windows. These homes, often referred to as “jumbo” or 

“super” bungalows, take these forms due to being situated on wider and deeper lots. These homes 

share the same historical context as the more typical Chicago style bungalows, and as such are 

eligible for qualification as an individual registration under this thematic designation. However, due to 

their unique designs, their eligibility criteria and registration requirements will need to be determined


on case-by-case basis. 

Property Type Significance 

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National Register Criteria 

Berwyn bungalows correspond for Historic Landmark under the National Register Criterion A and C, 

local significance, by being associated with events that contributed to broad patterns of Berwyn history 

– home ownership and single-family accommodation for residents moving out of Chicago 

neighborhood apartments and tenements. 

The Berwyn Chicago-style bungalow also possesses National Register Criterion C, local significance 

by embodying the characteristics of a distinctive type, period, and method of residential, commercial, 

and industrial buildings and activities in the same neighborhood. Many developers of bungalow 

blocks strove to create an orderly separation between single-family bungalows and other buildings and 

uses, including apartments, manufacturing and other commercial establishments. At the scale of the 

neighborhood bungalow developers sought to foster a domestic atmosphere of peace, tranquility, and 

harmony for urban residents. 

City of Berwyn Criteria 

The Berwyn Chicago-style bungalows also meet the designation criteria, either individually or as a 

district, of the City of Berwyn Historic Preservation ordinance. 

A Chicago-style bungalow in Berwyn meets the city of Berwyn‟s criteria for designation under the 

historical and/or cultural importance section: 

It is a significant example of the architectural, cultural, economic, historic, social development 

and heritage of the City of Berwyn, and its growth from 1910 to the 1930s. 

It embodies distinguishing characteristics of a significant architectural type or style. The 

Chicago Bungalow, which is a local form of housing, is particularly unique to the cities of 

Chicago and Berwyn. 

It is made with design elements, detail, material or craftsmanship that makes it structurally or 

architecturally innovative, rare or unique. 

It represents an architectural, cultural, economic, historic or social theme, style or period, 

expressed in the many Berwyn bungalows that allowed one of the first ethnic and immigrant 

migration from the city to the suburbs in pursuit of the American Dream and homeownership, 

and the development of one of the first inner ring suburbs in the United States. 

Local Historic Certification Requirements 

Individual Certification 

In order to qualify for certification as a local historic landmark according to this document and under 

the listed City of Berwyn criteria above, a structure must: 

1. Exhibit all of the defining characteristics of a Chicago bungalow. The seven characteristics 

that define a Chicago style bungalow are: 

i. Brick construction 

ii. One and a half stories single family residence (first floor with spacious attic) 

iii. Constructed between 1900 and 1945


iv. Located within the City of Berwyn 

v. Rectangular in plan 

vi. Low-pitched roof with overhanging eaves 

vii. Full basement 

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2. The structure should retain sufficient integrity to evoke the character of its style and subtype, 

and should boast a majority of its exterior features. 

If the structure has been expanded, it can still qualify if the additions and/or expansions are compatible 

to the original building in material, style and proportions without radically changing streetscape visible 

character-defining roof shape as a result of incompatible design or improper installation. 

As such, for a bungalow with a second floor addition to be eligible for individual registration, the 

addition shall be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the front edge of the building, and be of a similar 

roof pitch as the original structure, matching window openings, trim eaves and other details as close 

as possible to the original building. However, a bungalow with side dormers that is set back less than 

20 ft from the front edge of the building, may still qualify depending on the type of bungalow, the 

overall design of the dormer and its visibility from the streetscape. 

Certification as a Local Historical District 

In order to qualify for registration as a local Chicago-style bungalow historic district under the City of 

Berwyn criteria, properties in the district must exhibit all the defining characteristics of a Chicago-style 

bungalow or its antecedent forms. A Chicago-style bungalow district should be nominated as a 

minimum of one city block where a city block is defined as a span of consecutive houses bordered by 

cross streets. One side of the street corner to corner could be designated as an Historic Bungalow 

district. An eligible bungalow block should include an obvious predominance of bungalows, 

comprising at least two-thirds of the buildings on the block, except in cases where the bungalow 

alternates with other residential forms as part of a larger design conception aiming to foster a varied 

streetscape, or as an example of development of the block over two distinct periods. 

Preferably, bungalows should be grouped together, side-by-side to give a sense of a harmonious and 

uniform bungalow streetscape. They must be one-and-one-half story single family residential 

structures built between 1900 and 1945 in Berwyn, Il, with rectangular plans, brick, frame or stucco 

exteriors, low-pitched roofs with overhanging eaves, and full walkout basements. However, bungalows 

with common alterations, though unapproved for individual designations may be considered 

contributing to the district, and not preclude the designation of a district as long as there exists a 

streetscape cohesiveness. Such alterations include the replacement of storm windows or secondary 

windows such as basement, dormer, or side elevation windows, the addition of siding over wooden 

elements, and the addition of side-facing dormers that are within 20 feet from the front of the structure. 

G. Geographical Data 

The City of Berwyn, IL 

H. Summary of Identification and Evaluation Methods 

A survey completed by the Berwyn Bungalow Exploratory Committee in June 2010 identified over 200 

blocks as predominantly bungalow blocks in Berwyn. The survey is not complete, however, with 

hundreds of Chicago style bungalows eligible for nomination either under individual or district 

nomination, an inventory of these bungalows will be an ongoing process


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The three historic contexts for this documentation reflect the trends that emerged simultaneously from 

the architectural development of the bungalow, the growth of Berwyn, and the Czech immigrants‟ 

impact on the rapid growth of Berwyn in the 1920s and 1930s. 

I. Major Bibliographical References 

Berwyn Historical Society. (1983). Stories of An Earlier Berwyn, Berwyn's 75th 

Anniversary 1908-1983. 

Bluestone, D. (2004). Multiple Property Listing: Chicago Bungalows. Chicago. 

Chicago Tribune. (1911, April). Chicago Tribune . 

Chicago Tribune. (1912, March 11). Chicago Tribune . 

Chicago Tribune. (1922, April 10). Chicago Tribune . 

chicago-l.org. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2010, from Chicago-l.org. 

Cohn, P. (1978). Berwyn 1910-1930: A Case Study of Suburbanization During The Inter- 

War Years. Chicago: University of Chicago. 

Deuchler, D. (2005). Images of America: Berwyn. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth 

NH, San Francisco CA: Arcadia Publishing. 

Hoyt, H. (1933). One Hundred Years of Land Values in Chicago. Chicago, IL: University 

of Chicago Press. 

Kirk, I. (1995). Security, Strength, Stability: The Berwyn National Bank and Banking 

in the 1920s. Berwyn Past-Times , 16 (2 (Summer 1995)), 3-5. 

Radford Architectural Company. (1908). Radford's Artistic Bungalows. Chicago, IL. 

Riley, P. (1912, July). What is a Bungalow. Country Life in America . 

School of the Art Institute. (1999). City of Berwyn Preservation Plan. 

Thielen, L. (1998). A Short History of Berwyn. 

US Department of Commerce. (1990). 20th Census. 

US Department Of Commerce. (1920). Brick and Tile, Terra-Cotta and Fire-Clay 

Products, Fouteenth Census of the United States. 

US Department of Commerce. (1930). Fifteenth Census. 

US Department of Commerce. (1920). Fourteenth Census. 

US Department of Commerce. (1910). Thirteenth Census. 

Webb, W. (1915, April). Why Bungalows Are So Popular. Keith's Magazine , p. 346. 

Whitman, R. (1924, July). The More Than Popular Bungalow. Country Life . 

Williams, M. (2007, Summer). Chicagoland's Hidden Treasure. American Bungalow .


J. Pictures 

The 1400 Block of Kenilworth illustrates the earlier open porch bungalows. 

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The 2100 block of Home Avenue is notable for a number of bungalows with offset entrances, 

polygonal bays with rounded windows.


This bungalow at Scoville and 19 th is an example of checkerboard brick that is typically 

“Chicago” laid in a Flemish bond with decorative headers and façade typical for a corner 

bungalow. 

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1409 Clinton: A bungalow with an offset front entrance, flat façade and hipped roofline. 

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1603 Grove: A bungalow with an offset front entrance, flat façade and hipped roofline. Note the 

difference in dormer window size with 1409 Clinton.


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1423 Kenilworth is one of the few bungalows in Berwyn with a front entrance; this one also has 

a gable with the apex clipped, which is called a jerkinhead roof.


1628 Wenonah.: A side entrance bungalow with a curved bay front and hipped roofline. 

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1629 Clinton: An example of an offset front entrance, curved bay, and jerkinhead roofline.


1814 Scoville: A bungalow with a side entrance, polygonal bay and hipped roofline. 

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2106 Clinton: A large bungalow with an offset side entrance, a polygonal bay, historic flowerbox 

corbels. Note that the front pavilion is a jerkinhead, and the polygonal bay has a low-slope 

hipped roof.


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6902 30 TH Place: A bungalow with a side entrance, polygonal bay, and a jerkinhead roof. Note 

the two types of face brick used on the facade.


1902 Wenonah: A bungalow with a side entrance, polygonal bay, and hipped roofline. 

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1637 Grove: A bungalow with an offset side entrance, polygonal bay, and hipped roofline. Note 

the similarity in the masonry accents on the wing walls and front porch between these 

neighboring homes.


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2910 Wisconsin: A checkerboard brick bungalow with an offset side entrance, polygonal bay 

and jerkinhead.


2809 Wisconsin: A side entrance bungalow with a flat front and jerkinhead roof. 

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1811 Clinton: A bungalow with an offset front entrance, flat front, and jerkinhead roof. 

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2502 Kenilworth: An offset front entrance bungalow with a flat front and interrupted front gable.


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This corner bungalow at 1645 Scoville has an offset front entrance, polygonal bay and hipped 

roofline.


The bungalow at 3130 Home boasts a full front porch and hipped roof. 

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1518-1520 Wenonah: These side-by-side checkerboard brick bungalows with offset side 

entrances and hipped rooflines exhibit different bay shapes and brick color. These slight 

variations helped developers individualize many bungalows in Berwyn. 

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documentation for Chicago style bungalow historic landmark

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